Sure, there are some pretty unflattering and unattractive patterns made in unappealing yarn, however that's not crochet's fault.

There are some pretty cool stuff that you can only make with a hook, rather than a needle.

Last week I saw a beautiful example of crochet pop up on my instagram feed. Unfortunately, it was because Catherine of ZigZagStitches was sharing her evening's pursuit and that it wasn't going to keep doing it.

A photo posted by Catherine (@zigzagstitches) on May 22, 2015 at 2:02pm PDT

However it sparked something in me.

I've crocheted before, and enjoyed it. I made a couple of baby blankets a few years back when I got a kit from KnitPicks.

I also went on a bit of an amigurumi bender ...

So after a couple years off crochet, that image from Catherine hit me like a ton of bricks. I wanted it, I wanted it so bad.

And as someone with some serious sock yarn scraps (and access to more from my sister!), I decided (after asking said sister to talk me out of wanting to make it) to make one for myself.

My plan is to use the Flowers in the Snow pattern from Ravelry, but instead of changing colors on every round, do them solid and then outline and join them in white. This means that I can make the centers now, and only when I get around 200 centers together do I need to worry about the outsides.

The original from Sols(tr)ikke - and my main inspiration

I've started making the centers, and I love the way they are working up. Just another 198 to go!